Fabulous People: Erin Dodd

While most people were baking banana bread in April, Erin Dodd, along with her friend and business partner Sharon Skaar, launched TreCeuticals, a vegan, gender-neutral skin care line. (Dealing with the ever-dreaded mask-ne? Shop the local brand here.) Learn about Erin Dodd…

Hometown: I was born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Grand Forks is close to the Canadian border and sits right on the edge of the Minnesota border.

First job: When I turned 10, I had the opportunity to work at my father’s office as a cleaning girl. Swingen Construction Company is a four-generation family-owned business. I remember I wanted to work at Swingen’s more than anything.

Favorite ways to spend your time in Arizona: I love everything about AZ—our outdoor living, BBQing, fun happy hours with great friends or chilling at our fire pit at night. Honestly, this is how TreCeuticals was conceived, around our fire pit, on a cocktail napkin with our CEO, Sharon Skaar, and her wonderful husband, Chris, and my wonderful husband, Cliff. Many say deals happen on the golf course, well, our story started around a fire pit. Another perfect gathering for me would be with my circle of women friends in sisterhood sharing stories, relaxing, drinking wine, listening, laughing and supporting each other in a million different ways.

A person who has impacted my life the most and why: Without a doubt, my parents have been the most influential people in my life. They were the ones who imparted the importance of family and insisted on what might be considered “old-fashioned values.”

My biggest accomplishment and why: After 16 years of working for chain retailers in the Midwest, always in a management role, I landed a job with Escada, a major luxury designer and a major player in the world of upscale fashion-based out of Munich, Germany. Being a small-town girl from North Dakota, landing this job catapulted my career into the world of luxury fashion. Certainly, another huge accomplishment that fills my heart is seeing my children and grandchildren grow into the extraordinary people they are today.

My biggest obstacle: Frankly, like many people, I have had many challenges, but what stands out as the biggest game-changer for me was when I learned to care for people rather than take care of them. For many years I would have been labeled a genuine people-pleaser, and I was often exhausted from doing so much for others. Today, I have prioritized my life to include time for my self-care, as well as help others in an impactful way, rather than people-pleasing.

Someone who inspires me and why: Many, many people have inspired me, thoughout my life. At this time, I two women in my life who inspire me every single day, Stacy Kelly and Sharon Skaar. Stacy and I have been besties for over 40 years, and right now she is fighting the fight of her life with cancer. She inspires me every single day with her will, courage, tenacity and I’ve got this attitude. And, she is winning her battle. The other woman who inspires me every day is my very dear friend and business partner, Sharon Skaar, CEO of BellaTres, dba Treceuticals. Starting a new business with Sharon in the pandemic has been harder than hard. However, Sharon, in their own way, somehow seems to soften everything around her with her relentless desire to make every single person genuinely feel important.

Advice to someone pursuing a career path in what I do: Consider a shift from being very serious about your goals to being sincere about them. Sincerity creates a circle of love around you, and you need others who can encourage you, support you, and inspire you to be and do more than you ever dreamed. Be more than willing to learn from the people you admire. Find mentors and listen, watch and ask lots of questions. It’s good to believe in yourself, but always know that there is more to learn. And most of all, in every single encounter, remember relationships matter. Don’t burn bridges, build them.

What I think makes someone fabulous: For me, a fabulous person lives a life aligned with their core values. Fabulous people want to add more love in the world every day in a million big and small ways.